Thursday, October 28, 2010

Source of "Killer Electrons" in Space Discovered, Study Says

"[The particles] pose a danger to humans because of cumulative radiation exposure and also by damaging the spacecraft on which they are dependent," said Mike Xapsos, a researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center unaffiliated with the new research.

When killer electrons collect in large numbers, they can penetrate a spacecraft and build up a significant electrical charge.

"Particles can get lost, wiped out completely in a very fast time range, and they can become reaccelerated to levels far exceeding the average levelthree orders of magnitude upin just a couple of days."

"The main reason we're trying to come up with models of the radiation belt [is to] predict when these events are going to happen."